The track and field team is at it again.On April 26-27, 21 student-athletes traveled to compete in the exclusive Penn Relays; it is the largest track and field competition in the United States. The event is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. About 15,000 participants from high schools, clubs, and colleges come from all over the U.S. and from other countries, like Jamaica. This year, it celebrated its 125th anniversary this year, which makes it the oldest event held for that sport.  

Students and teams are registered by their individual schools. A committee (put together by Penn Relays) reviews each athlete and determines if they are qualified to compete in their event by looking at their past times. Many are not admitted and the few who are usually got a high rank in the Meet of Champions or another elite event.

While on their trip, students got a chance to explore Philadelphia with their peers. They got a chance to walk about the city and visit the Capitol Building. The athletes even got a chance to have dinner together and continue their team bonding throughout the weekend.

“Getting to run in the Penn Relays was honestly a thrilling experience. I was so nervous about it at first, but once I walked out onto the track and realized how many people were watching, and all the great runners I got to run with, I had an amazing time,” said junior Ashlin Murphy. “It didn’t matter to me if we won our race or not, I was just happy that I was able to be a part of a meet as huge as the Penn Relays.”

HHS put in a valiant fight while they competed against previous state and national champions. The Boro girls 4×400 group was one of the five schools in the area that ran their event in under four minutes during their spring season. All the student-athletes that competed in the event put in tremendous effort while being an excellent representation of Hillsborough High School. Here are their impressive results: